Hi all,
after having ridden my Moses foil in North Sea water for less than 3 hours during its first use I´ve been irritated to see clear signs of corrosion on the fuselage.
The shiny black (anodized) surface was covered with numerous elevated white spots of Al2O3 (alumina). These corrosion spots were centered around the screw holes for the mast and two areas where the wings are mounted.
I´ve put Li-grease on all screws before first water contact and have never left any parts assembled in wet condition (how could I - before first use).

The lapidary response from Moses (having received detailed pictures of the fuselage via my dealer) is: Send it in for analysis (2-3 weeks) or simply keep it and wipe it clean.

I´m kind of an expert for metal surface coatings... This is a clear quality issue from defective anodization. And any expert would be able to see it from my pictures. No need for "analysis"... if you´d like to call yourself a customer centric company. Needless to mention that this cannot be "wiped clean"! I´d have to sand it away, further thinning that anodized surface and worsening the issue.

What do you think?

Last edited by Onda on Thu Jun 14, 2018 7:04 pm, edited 4 times in total.

Sounds like OP would be just the expert to pick the right coating to apply as a barrier, find an anodizing shop, fit an anode, or whatever....
But Moses should make sure their anodizing is thorough, hard, and follow zeeko example by following it with PAINT also!

I am using a Moses Fluente model 2016 since August 2016 in Barbados / Caribbean. We have super high humidity and high temperatures.
My foil is not always washed with fresh water after foiling and I get an average of 2 - 3 days per week on the foil.
After almost 2 years of usage I can now start to see some slight signs of corrosion where the fuselage connects to the mast but no reason of concern. All screws are still working perfectly fine and there are no complaints whatsoever about the quality of the foil. Generally I take my foil apart every 1 to 1.5 months and re grease all screws and connections where aluminium and carbon meets...
The Moses Foil is still going strong and I am super happy with my choice in all aspects. I can still ride the most up to date wings and don't feel in any way that I have outgrown my setup.
I am now thinking of buying the new 633 setup which I can still use with my original mast. Which other company can say that?

interesting, I did wonder what those little white spots were,
I have 2 fuses for the Onda wave set up with one fuse being only 1 weeks old,the other 3 months old.

The brand new one came with the new 91cm mast set up, and this new fuse showed a rash of spots from the very first outing just behind the front wing extending down to near the mast recess, mostly on the flat underside surface, but when i removed the front wing after its first week of use to clean and lube all the screw holes, I noticed the tiny white spots extending forward to round the edges of the front wing, I used a little Tcut rubbing compound and the surface returned to black, this made me inspect my older Onda fuse and there was a little rash of white spots in the same place, but much less and these rubbed away with a little rub or two,
My brand new standard fuse only 2 weeks old has shown no signs of this white spot rash.
Now I know its corrosion I will take a few close up photos to send off to moses and post on here after this weekends use.

Another question comes to mind: are the wings, including the screw holes, fully sealed? This sounds like there is exposed carbon involved, not just steel versus aluminum, to see damage in hours.
Maybe the attachment areas need a barrier coat of epoxy, especially in the holes?
Just a thought, I don’t have one of these things myself.

Another question comes to mind: are the wings, including the screw holes, fully sealed? This sounds like there is exposed carbon involved, not just steel versus aluminum, to see damage in hours.
Maybe the attachment areas need a barrier coat of epoxy, especially in the holes?
Just a thought, I don’t have one of these things myself.

its nowhere near the attachment points, mainly aft of the front wing for 3 or 4 cm long before the mast recess

been riding Moses for over a year now. The white spots on the fuse you see after riding are usually grease spots that are originating from the screw connections. Clean with some soap and green scrubby pad and they will be gone.

However as Rolf said, after a lot of riding you might get some corrosion on the lip of the fuse where it fits into the mast, but it is pretty minor, I would guess a Moses fuse would be perfectly fine for several years depending on how you treat it.

The raised white crust usually occurs above pitting and is a hydrated form of the alumina, itself quite insoluble in water and to an extent protective. But it wouldn't be there so soon if the anodization was done correctly. In the interim, consider getting in a habit of wiping all the aluminum with something like Boeshield T9.
Yes, I'm a better materials science tech weenie than a kiter.
-Barry

Hi all,
after having ridden my Moses foil in North Sea water for less than 3 hours during its first use I´ve been irritated to see clear signs of corrosion on the fuselage.
The shiny black (anodized) surface was covered with numerous elevated white spots of Al2O3 (alumina). ...
What do you think?
Will post the pictures here when I´ve managed to upload them.